Yesterday, I was over at Lil Bean N Green for the final MommyConnections East Toronto Tuesday class of the year. The class started at 11am. Since I was coming from the Annex, I wanted to make sure that I gave myself plenty of time to make it down. Especially since last time I came down for a MommyConnections East Toronto class at Lil Bean N Green, I wound up having to ride my scooter all the way from King and Bay. Great workout, but not fun when you're in a hurry to get somewhere. Thanks for nothing, TTC. And thank you awesomely fabulous Kick scooter (yes, mine IS the bright blue one)! I still made it in with 10 minutes to spare on that day.

Anyway, I digress. So this time, the TTC gods were on my side, and I arrived 40 minutes early (*gasp*)! Enough time to kick back, read e-mails, and enjoy a hot chocolate. Ahhhhh. Once Laura from MommyConnections East Toronto got in, I began to set up. I usually like to take test shots, to make sure that everything is okay with my equipment. Everything was going fine, until all of a sudden, I noticed that my camera started acting up out of the blue. I always shoot on manual mode, which means that I have full control of aperture (how much light to let into the camera) and shutter speed (how long until you hear the "click" sound on the camera shutter) settings, rather than letting the camera pick either, or both. My issue was that I was unable to change my aperture. Plus my autofocus suddenly began to malfunction. Panic set in. So I switched the camera off and on. Nothing. And then I decided to pull the lens off, and put it back on, to see if it helped. Except that as I pulled it off, *THUNK*. IT. FELL. ON. THE. FLOOR. Seriously. Panic set in. Heart palpitating. Head spinning. I quickly put the lens back on the camera, and it initially looked like the drop had done it some good. I had aperture control once again, and autofocus was working. Yay! Except...now the zoom wasn't working. It was jammed. Panic set in once again. There was nothing I could do. Yes, I could still shoot with the lens, but with no zoom. Though truth be told, who knows what else got messed up in there, and I didn't want to risk it.

I have to be honest with you when I say that I wanted to run out of the room screaming and crying, and curl into a little ball. You probably would too, if that was your livelihood that you dropped. Plus it was a $2,500, barely two-week-old lens that I had wanted to buy for ever and ever. I wanted to scream and freak out, and make a scene. But I wasn't there for that, and the mommies probably wouldn't have appreciated it either (as if anyone would - HA). I was there to take pictures. I'm a professional after all, and professionals don't lose their cool, even when they want to. We reserve that for super-famous movie star divas, don't we. :) If you're wondering what my lovely lens looks like, here it is:

Let's now all admire its prettiness and mourn the loss of my lens. Moving on...

So I took a deep breath, calmed down, and swapped out lenses. I had my trusty 50mm lens on me, which I always like to have, because it's a great portrait lens, and it's a very light lens. And so, the show went on. And I am glad to report had an absolutely lovely time today. Because, as we all know, babies are cute, adorable, and make everyone smile. A dose of babies was just what I needed, that's for sure. So, without further ado, here are some highlights from today's shoot.

In today's class, Cynthia, from Gymboree came by for a little demo class with the kiddies! And in case you're wondering, it's not Gymboree the clothing store (though I think they're affiliated). It's Gymboree the kiddie activity class (they freaking rock, by the way). You know...those guys with the colorful parachute?

Oh, THOSE parachute people! And they do bubbles too! The bubbles smell REALLY nice, by the way, and take forever to pop. They're not made of soap. Shh...don't tell my daughter!

Totally fun class. I never had my daughter in Gymboree, but it sure would've been a fun class to take! Here are some highlights of candids that I snapped of mommies and babies during the class.

Check out this little girl and her mommy. What a couple of sweeties. Who needs posing when you have genuine smiles? Melt my heart, why don't you?

And you could TOTALLY tell that this little cutie LOVES the camera. I swear this wasn't posed!

This little guy ALSO loved the camera. He kept crawling right toward it! (The little man has good taste!)

And speaking of little boys, check out this handsome fellow. Broken lens? What broken lens? Don't even remember it happening.

And finally, check out those lovely cheeks. I bet she gets lots of kisses from mommy and daddy!

I had a most wonderful time at this class, and I would like to thank the mommies and their awesome babies for putting up with me playing paparazzi during the session. I know that it can be super-intimidating to have a camera around (and a BIG one, at that), and they were totally cool about it. And a big thank you to Laura from MommyConnections East Toronto for arranging for me to come in, and to April from Lil Bean N Green for having me as well! (Aside: Don't forget to check out An Ümlarifically Sweet Holiday at Lil Bean N Green, on December 9th. There is only ONE spot left!) I'll be doing more MommyConnections East Toronto classes in 2013, so stay tuned and check the Ümla calendar of events for when I'll be around again!

As for my beloved lens, it has been sent off to Canon for repair, hopefully to return to me soon. In the meantime, I will be renting one to fill in the void.